Azure
by MyLadyDay
Summary: Day 29 of Share the love. Ace loves his job and working with his friends, but every once in a while he finds himself surprised at what Luffy can do for him without even trying.


**Day 29 for Share the love month hosted by Aerle and yours truly ^^ **

It was a great day, Ace could already tell by the way the sun shone while he walked to work. He wasn't running late for once and there was no rush as he walked through familiar streets. Summer in the city was his favorite time of year, despite it being pretty much the same all year round in Florida. No, summer had a distinct quality. There were excited tourists everywhere and the town was more lively than ever, but most importantly, Ace loved that it was absolutely acceptable for him to walk to work shirtless. Also to work shirtless. Apart from the whole swimming with dolphins deal, the lack of shirts was Ace's favorite part of the job. Shirts were overrated during those months anyway, it was too damn hot. Not that he minded, though.

All too soon, he walked through the doors of the establishment and stepped into the air conditioned space. His skin prickled from the shock of ice cold air hitting the overheated surface. Vivi looked up from the front desk as he greeted her, making her smile back.

"You're just in time, Sabo's group is done in ten minutes and then you're up," she told him, checking the schedule on her computer. "I think you have mostly kids today," she added as an afterthought and smiled as he nodded. Kids were probably his favorite to supervise while in the water with the dolphins; they were always more excited about the animals than adults and their awe was simply breathtaking. Ace loved every single one of the dolphins and nothing made him happier than seeing others treat the animals well.

"Thank you," he told her with a nod before making his way to the employee's locker room to drop off his stuff. He was already wearing his swimming shorts because, while he wasn't late to work, he wasn't exactly early either. By the time he came out the back and onto the pier, Luffy was strapping the kids into water safety jackets while telling them excitedly about the dolphins. Clearly, though, Luffy was on boat duty for the day so he didn't get to lead the group, but he wasn't any less happy than usual.

Ace's gaze raked over the group of kids that seemed to be between nine and twelve years old; they looked well behaved, bubbling with barely contained excitement. What surprised and confused him, though, was the scowling grey haired man standing next to the group in a safety jacket that was by far too small for him. Usually, most adults didn't need the jackets because the cove was pretty shallow and it was safe for non-swimmers as well. With all that in mind, Ace really couldn't think of a reason for the really menacing looking man to stand there and try to scowl the too tight safety jacket away.

Luffy wasn't deterred by the man nor was a tiny dark haired girl with pink-rimmed glasses, but the other kids didn't seem so confident anymore. Ace observed as the kids did their best to stand as far from the man as possible and chuckled in amusement, albeit a bit guiltily.

Luffy looked done with his task and almost ready to leave, whether Ace was on the boat with them or not. Ace, for one, decided to save the kids and find out who the grumpy man was.

"Ace!" Luffy's sense for perfect timing became evident once again as he called for Ace and turned everyone's attention towards him. "Come on, let's go!"

Ace chuckled at his younger coworker's enthusiasm as he made his way toward the group of once again excited children. The man, however, appraised Ace with a prominent scowl. Once again, Luffy either didn't care or didn't even notice.

"Hello, everyone," he said to the group. "I'm Ace and I'll be introducing you to the dolphins. Before we go, I'd just like to tell you to listen to my instructions and don't wander off when we get there. Okay?"

The kids nodded and even the man grunted in agreement; or at least Ace figured it was agreement.

"You are their chaperone?" Ace asked him with a polite smile, but before the stranger could answer, Luffy took it upon himself.

"Oh, Ace, this is Smokie!" That didn't sound like an actual name to Ace, but coming from Luffy, he didn't even expect much. "He's Tashigi's uncle!"

Ace figured that was supposed to mean something to him, but he really had no clue. He did, however, notice the scowl on Smokie's face deepen when Luffy introduced him.

"And who's Tashigi?" Ace asked before Smokie could reply to anything that was said. The small girl with the bright pink glasses looked at him with a shy smile.

"I am," she said quietly. "It's my birthday and uncle Smokie brought us here as my present!"

Well, it seemed that the name was correct, for once, and that the stranger had a soft spot under the gruff looking exterior. Barely containing a chuckle, Ace directed Luffy to start helping the kids onboard and turned to the scary looking man.

"It's Smoker," the man grumbled, tugging at the really uncomfortable safety jacket.

"You know you don't need to wear that," Ace told him with a subtle chuckle, though he suspected he wasn't subtle enough considering the other narrowed his eyes in silent contempt.

"I know, but the brats didn't want to put them on until I did," he said, crossing his arms before his chest. Ace had half a mind to voice his thought on how ridiculous the other looked. Instead he glanced at Luffy and the kids, noting that they were all sitting safely in the little boat.

"Let's go, Smokie," Ace said and hear a low growl from the other as he turned to the boat completely, stepping into it. Smoker followed close behind, settling in next to his little niece while Ace took his seat behind Luffy who was starting up the boat. By common sense, Luffy shouldn't have been the one navigating any kind of vehicle, but he was surprisingly responsible when it came to his job. Especially if there were kids involved.

Ace turned his attention to the still scowling man, but it didn't go unnoticed that his gaze softened when he turned to the little girl next to him. Ace was definitely intrigued by the man, but his gaze as well as Smoker's was turned to the sea of azure surrounding them as the boat moved away from the dock. The closer they got to the little cove, the cleaner the water became. No waves in sight only the glittering serene water in the sunlight. It was another perk of the job, really, to see such a scene every day. The sea stretching around him and the soft breeze on his face, even if it was an imaginary one this time.

He was jostled out of his observation when Luffy brought the boat to a stop just outside the cove. The last short distance was covered by swimming or riding on Ace's shoulders in case one of the kids didn't know how to swim. Those were rare, however, considering most kids learned how to swim early on what with living within spitting distance from the ocean.

Ace slid into the water first, sighing at the pleasant cool feeling enveloping him after being out in the scorching sun. Smokie followed right after while Luffy stayed onboard to help the kids into the water. It was a surprisingly easy feat between the three of them considering the excitement that took over the group. Ace didn't waste time in guiding the group into the cove and close to the dolphins. They were always there, knowing when Ace or Sabo would come by. The kids were reluctant to approach them at first, but Luffy's friendly approach and enthusiastic coaxing was enough for everyone, including shy Tashigi, to get closer.

Deeming Luffy was well enough to deal with the kids for a moment, Ace stayed to the side with Smokie who seemed less happy about the dolphins. Well, 'less happy' was an understatement if the severe scowl was anything to go by. He expressed his wish to stay away from 'the damn fish', but to his horror Ace only chuckled and pulled him through the water. Smoker was fighting it, even more so when one of the dolphins came closer only to splash water in their direction. The kids were calling them, demanding they join in on the fun that was swimming in touching distance from such majestic creatures, but Smokie was still adamant about it.

"Aw, come on, Smokie," Luffy called. "If you come here and have fun, Ace will take you out for dinner!"

At the exclamation, both Ace and Smoker froze in the water, stealing a glance at each other and Ace noted that Smokie's scowl smoothed out. Whether from shock or interest in the offer, Ace didn't know. Still, he smile and grasped the other's hand once again, dragging him towards the rest of their group.

"Dinner it is," Ace said and he swore the other smile for a brief moment before they reached the kids.


End file.
